WNBA recruiting lesbian fans

The WNBA has become tne first US pro sports league to begin recruiting lesbian fans.

The sport has kicked off its initiative to attract more lesbian fans to the game by launching a a marketing campaign, a series of pride games and rainbow pride merchandise.

WNBA President Laurel Richie describes the strategy as smart business – with data suggesting 21 per cent of lesbians have attended a WNBA game and a quarter of US lesbians admitting they had watched a WNBA game on TV.

The WNBA has had out players for some time. In the early 2000s, WNBA star player Sue Wicks went public as a lesbian and called the league out for focusing on its straight players. Sheryl Swoopes came out shortly after.

Most recently, college star Brittney Griner came out before joining the professional league in 2013. Not long after, Griner became the first openly gay player to earn a Nike endorsement.